The Vampire Lestat: 5 Films & Shows That'll Prepare You For Rock 'n' Roll Mayhem

The Vampire Lestat is not the first time that Lestat has been in the spotlight. His first solo on-screen outing came in Queen of the Damned, a film that, despite having an excellent soundtrack, struggled to win over critics and audiences. Its biggest fault is that it tries to blend together two books. Not wanting to fully adapt The Vampire Lestat, the studio jumped ahead to book three, Queen of the Damned, whilst shoehorning in moments from the previous book. The result is an unsurprising muddle, which thankfully is not set to be repeated by the new TV show. 

Queen of the Damned is not an unmitigated disaster though; there are several elements that still manage to work. The aforementioned music is a paradise of nu-metal sounds, Lestat’s songs having been composed and performed (in the film at least) by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis. Queen Akasha herself is another strong point. Played by the late Aaliyah in what would be her final role, her performance is iconic, and even those who haven’t seen Queen of the Damned can conjure up the poster image featuring her in a hard-to-top jaw-dropping costume. Queen of the Damned should be watched prior to The Vampire Lestat so it can act as an interesting reference point.

The first episode of The Vampire Lestat finds Lestat and his newly forged band already on tour. As they arrive in Detroit, the typical excess of the perceived rock star persona is thrust onto screen. From taking a bucket load of unknown drugs, to elevator orgies, and not forgetting the inflated ego of the lead singer, The Vampire Lestat covers all the tropes of the rock star biopic. 

For a full on rock band movie that also doesn’t shy away from the debauchery of life on the road, check out Netflix’s The Dirt. Based on their own autobiography, The Dirt chronicles the rise to fame of ‘80s hair metal band Mötley Crüe. Starring Douglas Booth, Iwan Rheon, Daniel Webber, and Machine Gun Kelly as the band, with Pete Davidson as their manager, The Dirt highlights just how depraved the music scene was back then. Featuring so much alcohol and drugs that the viewer almost gets a contact high, The Dirt is a warts and all peek behind the curtain of an ‘80s institution. 

After documenting the life of Louis in print form during Interview with the Vampire, Daniel Molloy has now turned his attention to Lestat. Armed with a film crew, Daniel intends to document Lestat’s tour while, at the same time, hoping to get a glimpse behind the façade of the egomaniac rock star persona the vampire projects. Lestat is not as willing an interview subject as Louis, though, and causes Daniel all sorts of headaches, putting his dreams of Cannes and Oscars in peril. 

Daniel is not the only documentarian to struggle to profile a rock god. This was a key component of the plot of Almost Famous, but Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age movie is not going to adequately prepare anyone for The Vampire Lestat. Instead, Velvet Goldmine is a far more suitable selection. The story follows British journalist Arthur Stuart as he works on an article about reclusive former glam rock star Brian Slade. As he interviews those close to Slade, the screen comes alive with all of Slade’s conquests, antics, and temper tantrums. Lestat is definitely channelling the glam rock era, and had they ever met, Slade and Lestat would likely have been firm friends.

When listing legitimate rock stars it is hard to not think of Jim Morrison. The lead singer and poet of The Doors, Morrison and his music, have managed to transcend the generations. His image is still a regular fixture on the walls of student housing. Like so many inspirational musicians, Jim Morrison’s life ended early, the singer being a member of the infamous 27 club. In 1991, 20 years after his passing, Oliver Stone undertook the task of making a biopic about Jim and the band. The resulting movie, The Doors, is one of the best music biopics out there, largely thanks to the fact it never shies away from the darker moments in Morrison’s life. The film also boasts an electric performance by Val Kilmer, who sounded so much like Morrison when singing that even his former bandmates struggled to tell the difference. 

The Vampire Lestat is also unafraid to delve into darkness as Lestat’s creativity unwillingly unlocks repressed trauma. As the show unfolds, the eponymous vampire finds himself haunted by muses from his past, resulting in emotional distress, but also some exceptional music. As with Kilmer in The Doors, Lestat actor Sam Reid performs all of the songs himself, recording them live rather than feeding them in the edit. Lestat also follows the Jim Morrison dress code of ‘shirt optional’ and is a hip-swaggering, mesmeric performer, who gets everyone under his spell.

The final and most obvious preparation to make ahead of watching The Vampire Lestat is to watch the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire. Watching Neil Jordan’s film version will not be quite as beneficial, as the show deviates in several key ways. The first is the time setting, with the story of the TV series beginning in 1920s New Orleans rather than the late 1700s. The second is that the TV show is unashamedly queer, cutting through the not-so-subtle subtext of Anne Rice’s words to make Louis and Lestat a fully fledged couple. 

Watching Interview with the Vampire prior to The Vampire Lestat is vital as the new series deals with the aftermath of the release of Daniel Malloy’s book. Not only is this viewing key to understanding everyone’s personalities, histories, and relationships, The Vampire Lestat continually references previous events. It never goes the way of recreation, which would likely help fresh viewers, and so prior knowledge of the lore enables even the slightest comment or allusion to be better understood.